Interview with Emanuel and Tania
We are happy to present an interview with Emanuel and Tania. This amateur Standard couple represents Denmark and has been placing first or second in almost every event they enter, including Blackpool, the International Championships, the German Open, and many more.
Here follows the interview.
How did you two meet and how long have you been dancing together?
We have danced together for 11 years now. We started together because our teacher William Pino, who at the time was already Emanuel’s main teacher, was traveling to Denmark to teach sometimes and had met Tania there. Emanuel was without a partner when Tania split with her previous Danish partner, and William asked if Tania would like to move to Italy to dance. After a short tryout we decided that we were meant to dance together.
As a couple, you seem to have a great sense of musicality. What do you do to develop this in your practice?
Yes, music is very important for us. Music came before it was even thought to make dancing. We feel very lucky to have been raised by some of the most musical teachers in the world, and through them musicality has always been one of our main focuses. Especially the great Oliver Wessel Therhorn had a great influence on us in this direction.
In our daily practice we try to use lots of different kinds of music. When we put on a piece of music, we don’t just use it as background noise while practicing. We choose to do a piece to that music, trying to dance each accent with different parts of our bodies. We also sometimes have fun practicing to “non-dancing music,” and through that develop our ears to be more aware.
How do you structure your practice so you are most effective with your time?
It depends a bit on which period before a big competition it is. Normally we always make a plan for each practice. Sometimes, of course, we have so many things that we want to do and the time never seems to be enough, so we try to plan and prioritize the different things we want to focus on in order to keep improvement going all the time. Sometimes we make practice plans for longer periods and sometimes we make them day by day. It depends. We are both very effective people, so we hardly ever lose time when practicing. We know what we want to achieve and just keep our eyes on the goal.
How do you express the character of the Tango?
The special thing about the Tango is that it is a Latin dance. Sometimes people forget this. It is a dance that should be filled with atmosphere and drama between the man and the lady. Because of its Latin American origin, it is also the most dynamic dance, and the dynamics and isolation of body parts allow the two people to express the history of the dance very clearly compared to the other more classical dances. In our opinion, a Tango must be filled with passion in all its versions. This is what makes it the Tango.
As a partnership, you seem to have a great man/woman dynamic that appears more equal. How did you develop this, and what is your system for communicating?
It is something that has developed slowly throughout our career. We have always been very aware of lead and follow. We believe that everything in dancing should be “real.” Many times today couples are so focused on having fixed routines that the real meaning of lead and follow gets a bit lost. We of course also have routines and step combinations, but we do not have fixed routines. Many people often say to us that we dance different steps in different competitions, and this is actually true.
We have done hundreds of dances in competitions where Emanuel has danced only freestyle during the whole dance. From a very young age we were aware that we wanted to become “free” on the competition floor. We wanted to find a way where we could both express ourselves freely according to the music we would get. Only this way did we feel that we could get real emotion out on the dance floor.
Tania, the girls are wanting to know how you incorporate your own dancing into the partnership. What do you think of the lady’s role in general? There is always some concern among ladies about following versus being active. How do you balance this?
It is really not an easy question to answer, but generally I believe that a girl cannot be too active. She can be active in the wrong way, but if the activity is placed in the right body parts and at the right time, it is a great advantage and joy for most men. I think the best way to express it in words is by comparing it to a conversation.
- Monologue: This is the old-fashioned way of ballroom dancing, where only the man is speaking or doing and the lady is passive, listening to everything he is doing by following everything like a mirror. No personal opinion and no individuality.
- Duologue: This is what many boys and girls are afraid of when starting to learn to have an active girl. Duologue is when Emanuel, in the beginning of our career, would speak to me in Italian and I would answer him back in Danish. He could be speaking about the natural turn and I could be telling him to get a haircut. Two conversations that have nothing to do with each other. You often see this in young dancers when the girl is just trying to be active without first having learned to relate it to the man properly and use the activity as an added value. Also, often the man will just be doing the actions without even trying to feel what the lady wants to do on the other side. It goes both ways.
- Dialogue: This is what we are trying to achieve in our dancing. In this case, there should be a natural rhythm between the two people talking and listening. Of course, the man is always leading the steps. The dialogue of the man and woman is what happens after the actual step has been led. The man is the director of the conversation, but he has to sometimes take the time to listen to the body of the lady to feel in what way she chooses to answer him. In our world this is when dancing becomes magic. For me as a woman, I also feel I can put my input into our dance.
Emanuel, what is your role? How do you think about being a great leader?
I think that a great leader is one who is able to keep control of the situation, leading the couple in whatever step, accent, or shape I want, while still making the other part feel great and expressive. I believe that without a great and active lady, the man’s job becomes heavy and boring. Of course everyone is different, but for me it would be boring if every day were the same. I feel different every day, Tania feels different every day, and therefore our dancing should change accordingly.
The fun is to teach your body to be able to react to every situation. Of course, you cannot do any of this without great technique and years of practicing all the basic principles. At the end of the day, you create your style on top of the piles of technique that have been passed on for generations. We are very grateful to have had great teachers who trained us so that today we can allow ourselves to enjoy what we do.
What keeps you inspired? Who keeps you inspired?
The passion for dance keeps us inspired. We love it. We love going to theaters, concerts, and anything related to music and dance. Whenever we have the chance, we go out to see wonderful shows of different kinds. We can get inspired by lots of different things, but deep down our biggest inspiration is creating. We just love what we do.
Is there anything that you do outside of dancing, such as yoga, to enhance your dancing? What about diet?
Tania does a lot of ballet training. When we are home she does ballet almost every day before going to practice. We both do gym, running, etc., but our main activity is practice in the studio. We have diets that we try to follow sometimes, and we are of course aware of what we eat, but we also want to live, and sometimes we let go and enjoy life and food.
How do you decide on a competitive look? Tania, how do you come up with your amazing hairstyles? Do you help design your dresses?
It is different. I design all my dresses myself, and I have always liked designing. I have also made a couture collection for Chrisanne and, as you probably know, I launched a practice-wear collection in August. I get ideas from lots of things: fashion, art, and more.
What do you feel is most important for couples to focus on early in their careers?
Practice! They should practice technique, steps, etc., but it is also very important to find the fun. The career is long, and it is extremely important to find the fun in what we are doing. Otherwise couples will give up when it gets tough.